Automatic bow feeding apparatus

ABSTRACT

Automatic apparatus for the feeding of soft lightweight ornamental articles, such as bows formed from ribbon, includes a hopper wherein the articles are loaded in random fashion. A primary shuffler constituting the bottom wall of the hopper is reciprocated in a horizontal plane to deliver the articles in a forward direction to a secondary shuffler also reciprocated in a horizontal plane. A first photoelectric device automatically halts reciprocation of the primary shuffler when there is a pileup of articles on the secondary shuffler. The secondary shuffler delivers the articles to the wide-mouthed upper end of a downwardly extending chute having converging sides which terminate in a relatively narrow mouth. A transformer-type vibrator vibrates the chute with very short rapid strokes directed along the longitudinal axis of the chute. Articles tumble from the discharge end of the chute onto a continuous belt transfer conveyor, which delivers the articles to a continuous belt delivery conveyor located adjacent to and in axial alignment with the transfer conveyor. A second photoelectric device deactivates the transfer conveyor whenever there is a pileup of articles at the boundary between the transfer and delivery conveyors. A third photoelectric device deactivates the delivery conveyor each time the latter delivers a predetermined number of articles (one or more) to a loading mechanism, with the delivery conveyor being reactivated in response to the condition of the loading mechanism.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Philip E. Nimmo, Jr.

Wayne; Richard A. Townsend, Rockaway, both of NJ. [21] Appl. No. 11,177[22] Filed Feb. 13, 1970 [4S] Patented Nov. 23, 1971 [73] Assignee SunChemical Corporation New York, N.Y.

[54] AUTOMATIC BOW FEEDING APPARATUS 10 Claims, 1 Drawing Fig. [52] U.S.Cl 198/40, 198/110, 198/102 [5 I Int. Cl ..B65g 43/00, 865g 37/00 [50]Field of Search 198/39. 40. 110,102, 45, 43, 59, 60, 30; 250/223; 53/78,59

. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,523,517 9/1950 Potter198/30 3,535,847 10/1970 Strohmeier. 53/59 2,632,588 3/1953 Hoar 53/59 I2,962,150 11/1960 Haley 198/39 Primary Examiner-Richard E. AegerterAtlurney-Cynthia Berlow ABSTRACT: Automatic apparatus for the -feedingof soft lightweight ornamental articles, such as bows formed fromribbon, includes a hopper wherein the articles are loaded in randomfashion. A primary shufiler constituting the bottom wall ofthe hopper isreciprocated in a horizontal plane to deliver the articles in aforwarddirection to a secondary shuffler also reciprocated in a horizontalplane. A first photoelectric device automatically halts reciprocation ofthe primary shuffler when there is a pileup of articles on the secondaryshuffler. The secondary shuffler delivers the articles to thewide-mouthed upper end of a downwardly extending chute having convergingsides which terminate in a relatively narrow mouth. A transformentypevibrator vibrates the chute with very short rapid strokes directed alongthe longitudinal axis of the chute. Articles tumble from the dischargeend of the chute onto a continuous belt transfer conveyor, whichdelivers the articles to a continuous belt delivery conveyor locatedadjacent to and in axial alignment with the transfer conveyor. A secondphotoelectric device deactivates the transfer conveyor whenever there isa pileup of articles at the boundary between the transfer and deliveryconveyors. A third photoelectric device deactivates the deliveryconveyor each time the latter delivers a predetermined number ofarticles (one or more) to a loading mechanism, with the deliveryconveyor being reactivated in response to the condition of the loadingmechanism.

AUTOMATIC BOW FEEDING APPARATUS This invention relates toautomatic-feeding apparatus in general and more particularly relates toautomatic apparatus for controlled feeding of soft lightweightornamental articles such as bows.

Machinery is presently available for the automatic highspeed productionof bows from ribbon. Very often the bows are sold to the consumer inpackages containing a precise number of bows and very often this numberincludes bows of differing bows. Packaging is accomplished bytransferring the bows from a bulk-loaded hopper, holding a single colorand/or single style of bow, into a container of a loading mechanism.When the container is loaded with the desired quantity of bows of eachdesired style and/or color, the contents of the container are dumpedinto the final package.

In the prior art, rapid loading of the container with a precise countpresented a number of problems. For example, in one prior art mechanism-the bows, upon leaving the supply hopper, were arranged in single fileon a continuously moving conveyor. A reciprocating kicker removed thebows one at a time from the conveyor. Because the bows were relativelysoft and lightweight, and possibly more important because'they wereconstructed of resilient material, it often required more than a singlestroke of the kicker to remove a single bow from the conveyor. Suchmultiple strokes serve to unduly slow down operation of the apparatus.

The instant invention overcomes the above-noted disadvantage of priorart apparatus by providing an automatic-feeding apparatus that utilizesa continuous conveyor belt for controlled delivery, A photoelectricdevice counts each article as it leaves the delivery conveyor andautomatically deactivates the delivery conveyor which remainsdeactivated until receipt of an appropriate signal from a loadingmechanism which receives articles from the delivery conveyor. Acontinuous belt transfer conveyor, operating at a slower speed than thedelivery conveyor, transfers articles from a supply means to thedelivery conveyor. Additional photoelectric devices strategicallypositioned behind the delivery conveyor automatically deactivate thetransfer conveyor or other appropriate portions of the supply sectionshould a pileup of bows develop.

Accordingly, a primary object of the instant invention is to provideimproved high-speed accurate-counting automatic apparatus for feeding ofbows to a loading and packaging mechanism.

Another object is to provide automatic feeding apparatus of this type inwhich the final delivery conveyor is a continuous belt whose movement isstopped each time a predetermined number (one or more) of articles isdelivered.

Still another object is to provide apparatus of this type in which thereare aligned transfer and delivery conveyor belts positioned in tandem,with the transfer conveyor being operated at a substantially slowerspeed than the delivery conveyor.

A further object is to provide automatic apparatus of this type in whichphotoelectric devices are utilized to control actuation and deaetuationof conveyors in a controlledmanner.

A still further object is to provide automatic apparatus of this type inwhich the individual feeding units are relatively narrow, therebypermitting a large number of units to be arranged in a side by sidearray in a relatively small area.

These objects as well as other objects of this invention will becomereadily apparent after reading the following description of theaccompanying drawing. The single FIGURE is a perspective, indiagrammatic form, illustrating a single unit of an automatic bowfeeding apparatus constructed in accordance with teachings of theinstant invention.

Now referring to the FIGURE. Automatic feeding apparatus constructed inaccordance with teachings of the instant invention includes open topsupply hopper 11 wherein bows B are bulk loaded in random fashion. Therelatively narrow front and rear walls 12, 13 of hopper l1 converge fromfler 15, forming the bottom wall of hopper 11, is guided forreciprocating movement in a horizontal plane by track support 16 havinga U-shaped cross section with relatively short arms. Oscillatormechanism 17 reciprocates primary shuffler 15 to the left and right asindicated by double-ended arrow 18.

Oscillator mechanism 17 is constructed of a double-acting air cylinder17a. The exhaust openings of air cylinder 17a are adjusted so thatrearward movement of primary shuffler 15 (to the left with respect tothe FIGURE) is much more rapid than forward movement of primaryshufi'ler 15. The net effect of this motion is to cause bows B to bewithdrawn from hopper 11 through discharge opening 14 thereof and to bepushed to the right, tumbling from the forward end of primary shuffler15 to secondary shuffler 21 at the rear thereof.

Secondary shuffler 21 is mounted for reciprocating movement in ahorizontal plane, being guided by U-shaped support 26 in the same mannerthat primary shuffler 15 is guided by support 16. Oscillator mechanism27, of substantially the same construction as oscillator mechanism 17,reciprocates secondary shuffler 21 along its longitudinal axis asindicated by double-ended arrow 28. The relatively slow forward movementand relatively fast rearward movement of secondary shufiler 21 causesbows B to be moved in a forward direction, dropping from the forward endof secondary shuffler 21 on to chute 30 at the rear raised entrance end31 thereof. Chute 30 is downwardly inclined with entrance end 31 thereofbeing relatively wide and discharge end 32 thereof being relativelynarrow, with the curved sides of chute 30 tapering gradually betweenends 31 and 32. Transformer type vibrator 35, connected to chute 30 atthe midregion thereof, imparts rapid short stroke vibrations thereto.Such vibrations are directed generally along the longitudinal axis ofchute 30, indicated by double-ended arrow 38.

Discharge end 32 of chute 30 is positioned just above the upper flightof transfer conveyor belt 40. Delivery conveyor belt 50, in axialalignment with transfer conveyor 40, is positioned so that the rear ofdelivery conveyor 50 is immediately adjacent to the forward end oftransfer conveyor 40. Common motor 45, having output shaft 44, drivessprockets 46 and 56. Sprocket 46, connected to sprocket 47 by chain 48,and acting through electromagnetic clutch 49, drives transfer conveyor40. Sprocket 56, connected by chain 58 to sprocket 57, acts throughmagnetic clutch 59 to drive delivery conveyor 50.

The forward or discharge end of delivery conveyor 50 is positioned sothat bows B delivered thereby fall into the bucketlike container 61ashown stopped in position to receive bows B delivered by conveyor 50.Container 61a is one of a plurality of uniformly spaced identicalcontainers secured to the loading mechanism conveyor chain 63. Conveyor63 is operated in a stepped fashion, and each time belt 63 is stoppedone of the containers mounted on upper flight 62 thereof is positionedbelow and at the discharge end of a delivery conveyor 50. After apredetermined number of bows B are loaded into container 61a, either bythe single automatic feeding apparatus unit shown in the FIGURE or by aplurality of such units, the contents of container 610 are emptied intoa final package (not shown) as the open mouth of the container movesinto a downward-facing position.

A first delayed acting photoelectric device 28a, 28b, having a beamtransverse to the portion of the bow-feed path defined by secondaryshufiler 21, acts to deactivate oscillating mechanism 17 for primaryshuffler 15 when an excessive supply of bows B piles up on secondaryshuffler 21. Another delayed acting photoelectric device 39a, 3%, havingits beam directed transverse to the bow-feed path at transfer region 43between conveyors 40 and 50, acts to disengage clutch 49 therebystopping transfer conveyor 40 when there is an excessive buildup of bowsB at the transfer region 43. A third or counting photoelectric device69a, 69b, having a beam thereof directed across the feed path to detecteach bow B being delivered by delivery conveyor 50, acts instantaneouslyto deactuate clutch 59 and thereby stop delivery conveyor 50 Oscillatormechanism 17 is reactivated as soon as the jam detected by photoelectricdevice 28a, 28b is cleared. Similarly, electromagnetic clutch 49 isreactivated as soon as the jam detected by photoelectric device 39a, 39bis cleared. Reactivation of electromagnetic clutch 59 is controlled bythe loading mechanism to which conveyor 50 delivers bows B. That is,when the counting photoelectric device 69a, 69b at the discharge end ofeach of the automatic feeding apparatus units has operated, conveyor 63is stepped and thereafter delivery conveyors 50 of all feeding apparatusunits commence operation. When only a single automatic feeding apparatusunit is in operation, delivery conveyor 50 continues operation until thecounting photoelectric device 69a, 6% detects that a predeterminednumber of bows B have been delivered by conveyor 50.

Thus, it is seen that bows B are loaded at random into hopper 11 throughthe open upper end thereof and fall downward to be supported by primaryshuffler 15 which reciprocates horizontally to move bows through opening14 in hopper wall 12 and deliver such bows to secondary shufi'ler 21.The latter reciprocates and delivers bows B to the widcmouthed upper endof tapered sidewall chute 30. The downward inclination of chute 30combined with the longitudinally directed short rapid stroke vibrationthereof moves bows B to the chute discharge end 32 where bows B aredelivered to the upper flight of transfer conveyor belt 40. The lattermoves bows B to transfer region 43, where the bows B are picked up bythe upper flight of delivery conveyor 50. The latter is operated at afaster speed than transfer conveyor 40. Bows B are delivered by conveyor50 to container 61a on belt 63 of a loading mechanism (only partiallyshown) for delivery to packaging apparatus (not shown).

Accordingly, it is seen that the instant invention provides novel meansfor rapidly delivering an accurate count of soft lightweight ornamentalarticles. Each automatic feeding apparatus unit illustrated in thedrawing is relatively narrow, and as a result a plurality of such unitsmounted side by side will take up relatively little floor space.

Although there has been described a preferred embodiment of this novelinvention, many variations and modifications will now be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is to be limited notby the specific disclosure herein but only by the appending claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive privilege orproperty is claimed are defined as follows.

1. Automatic apparatus for feeding articles including a supply section,a transfer conveyor, and a delivery conveyor; said supply sectionincluding an input hopper wherein articles are bulk loaded, and aconveyor portion having an output from which articles are delivered tosaid transfer conveyor at the rear thereof; said delivery conveyorcomprising a first continuous movable belt having a first upper flight;said transfer conveyor consisting of a second continuous movable beltmeans having a second upper flight for moving articles forward anddelivering same at a transfer region to said first upper flight;operating means for actuating said first upper flight to deliverarticles to a loading mechanism; counting means for controlling saidoperating means to deactuate said first upper flight after the latterhas delivered a predetermined number of articles; and a jam-detectingmeans to deactivate said second upper flight means upon the occurrenceof excessive pileup of articles at said transfer region.

2. Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which there is adrive means for operating the first continuous movable belt means at asubstantially faster speed than said second continuous movable beltmeans.

3. Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 2, in which said first andsecond continuous movable belt means are axially aligned.

4. Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which, at saidtransfer region, the front of said second continuous movable belt meansis positioned adjacent to the rear of said first continuous movable beltmeans.

5. Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 4, in which there isanother jam-detecting means at said conveyor portion to halt withdrawalof articles from said hopper upon the occurrence of excessive pileup ofarticles at said conveyor portion.

6. Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 5, in which the drive meansincludes a common motor, first and second electromagnetic clutches; saidfirst continuous movable belt means being connectable to said motor;said first electromagnetic clutch interposed between said motor; saidcounting means controlling operation of said first electromagneticclutch; said second continuous movable belt means being connectable tosaid motor through said second electromagnetic clutch; saidjam-detecting means controlling operation of said second electromagneticclutch.

7. Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which there isanother jam-detecting means at said conveyor portion to halt withdrawalof articles from said hopper upon the occurrence of excessive pileup ofarticles at said conveyor portion.

8. Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 7, in which said countingmeans, said jam-detecting means, and said another jam-detecting meanseach includes a photoelectric detector with the photoelectric detectorsof said jam-detecting means and said another jam-detecting means actingon a delay basis to deactivate said second upper flight means and haltremoval of articles from said hopper.

9. Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which said conveyorportion, said transfer conveyor, and said delivery conveyor are eachelongated and are positioned in axial alignment.

10. Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 9, in which the bottomwall of said hopper includes a longitudinally reciprocated member; anoscillator mechanism for moving said member forward and rearward withrearward movement being substantially faster than forward movement.

* a a: a

1. Automatic apparatus for feeding articles including a supply section,a transfer conveyor, and a delivery conveyor; said supply sectionincluding an input hopper wherein articles are bulk loaded, and aconveyor portion having an output from which articles are delivered tosaid transfer conveyor at the rear thereof; said delivery conveyorcomprising a first continuous movable belt having a first upper flight;said transfer conveyor comprising a second continuous movable belt meanshaving a second upper flight for moving articles forward and deliveringsame at a transfer region to said first upper flight; operating meansfor actuating said first upper flight to deliver articles to a loadingmechanism; counting means for controlling said operating means todeactuate said first upper flight after the latter has delivered apredetermined number of articles; and a jam-detecting means todeactivate said second upper flight means upon the occurrence ofexcessive pileup of articles at said transfer region.
 2. Automaticapparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which there is a drive means foroperating the first continuous movable belt means at a substantiallyfaster speed than said second continuous movable belt means. 3.Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 2, in which said first andsecond continuous movable belt means are axially aligned.
 4. Automaticapparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which, at said transfer region, thefront of said second continuous movable belt means is positionedadjacent to the rear of said first continuous movable belt means. 5.Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 4, in which there is anotherjam-detecting means at said conveyor portion to halt withdrawal ofarticles from said hopper upon the occurrence of excessive pileup ofarticles at said conveyor portion.
 6. Automatic apparatus as set forthin claim 5, in which the drive means includes a common motor, first andsecond electromagnetic clutches; said first continuous movable beltmeans being connectable to said motor; said first electromagnetic clutchinterposed between said motor; said counting means controlling operationof said first electromagnetic clutch; said second continuous movablebelt means being connectable to said motor through said secondelectromagnetic clutch; said jam-detecting means controlling operationof said second electromagnetic clutch.
 7. Automatic apparatus as setforth in claim 1, in which there is another jam-detecting means at saidconveyor portion to halt withdrawal of articles from said hopper uponthe occurrence of excessive pileup of articles at said conveyor portion.8. Automatic apparatus as set forth in claim 7, in which said countiNgmeans, said jam-detecting means, and said another jam-detecting meanseach includes a photoelectric detector with the photoelectric detectorsof said jam-detecting means and said another jam-detecting means actingon a delay basis to deactivate said second upper flight means and haltremoval of articles from said hopper.
 9. Automatic apparatus as setforth in claim 1, in which said conveyor portion, said transferconveyor, and said delivery conveyor are each elongated and arepositioned in axial alignment.
 10. Automatic apparatus as set forth inclaim 9, in which the bottom wall of said hopper includes alongitudinally reciprocated member; an oscillator mechanism for movingsaid member forward and rearward with rearward movement beingsubstantially faster than forward movement.